Warriors of Aura
by Th3nerdy0ne
Summary: Ash has faced many enemies on his travels, but none compare to the enemy he must face now. Himself. Now, Ash must learn to use his Aura powers properly if he has any hope of stopping this new evil. And he won't be alone as he teams up with a group of Aura users to help save the world from complete annihilation.
1. Prologue

**Hello ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the beginning my new story. I had this Idea since I first started posting stories onto the site but I never got around to writing it. Now I'm getting around to writing it. Any who, I hope you enjoy the prologue and I'll see you guys at the end.**

**Disclaimer: **Hold on a sec, I think... No. Still don't own Pokémon.

**On with the story:**

**Warriors of Aura**

**By**

**Th3nerdy0ne**

* * *

**Chapter one: **Prologue

A young man, no older than 16, looked on in horror as his home town was burning. People were running and screaming from the chaos as their homes burned to the ground leaving nothing but black ash. Some people tried to put out the fires using their water Pokémon but to no avail. The fires were just too strong and too large. As the young man watched on, he caught the sight of a familiar woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail running with a familiar looking Psychic-type Pokémon. They both had a look of terror on their faces.

The young man tried calling to them, but no sound would exit his mouth. He tried running to them but his legs would not move. He could do nothing more but watch. Suddenly an explosion came from a very familiar lab on a hill top. A figure emerged from the now destroyed lab, a black aura surrounding it, and began floating towards the crowd of terrified towns people. More specifically, a certain woman. The young man could do nothing but watch as the figure got closer and closer to it's target, a black ball of energy appearing in it's right hand.

As the figure got closer and closer, the light from the fire began to illuminate it's features. The young man drew in a sharp breath as he stared at the familiar face of his home's attacker. There, floating closer to the woman, was himself. The young man continued to watch in horror as the woman tried to defend herself only to fail as the doppelganger threw his black sphere at her, causing a large explosion. The young man screamed out for the woman as tears began to fill his brown eyes.

"MOM!" He screamed. Sound finally exiting his mouth.

Hearing the scream, the doppelganger turned his attention to the young man and began to advance on him. The young man tried to move but his legs still wouldn't listen. The doppelganger stopped a few inches in front of the young man. A look of pure evil came into his eyes as he smiled maliciously at him. He took a few more steps closer and whispered into the young man's ear.

"This is the future that awaits you." He said.

Though the voice was not the same as the young man's voice, he couldn't help but find it very familiar. He didn't have time to think on this any further as the doppelganger made another black sphere appear in his right hand and pressed it towards the young man's chest. Before he could react, the sphere exploded in his chest with a large flash of light.

* * *

"Ah!"

Ash Ketchum looked at his surroundings as he awoke from a dreadful nightmare. He found himself in his bed at his home in Pallet Town. His breathing was very heavy and he was covered in a cold sweat. After a few minutes of deep breathing to calm himself, he got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. Once there, he turned on the cold tap and began throwing water on his face to cool himself. He reached for a face towel and began drying himself off. Once he removed the towel he looked back up into the mirror, only to be met with the sight of his doppelganger standing right behind him.

"Boo." He said.

Ash woke up for real this time and found himself lying in his sleeping bag in the middle of a forest. Looking around, he could see two other sleeping bags which belonged to his friends and traveling companions, Brock Slate and Dawn Hikari. Looking down, Ash could see the yellow fur of his best friend, Pikachu, sleeping soundly on the pillow of the sleeping bag. Sighing, Ash lay back down and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

_'What the hell was that?' _He thought to himself.

* * *

**That was the prologue, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you liked it. Please leave a review letting me know what you thought, constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**I'll get to work on chapter two as soon as I can and have it up when it's finished and perfect.**

**Until then, live long and prosper and may the force be with you.**


	2. A Letter and an Important Meeting

**Chapter two is here, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy and I'll see you at the end.**

**Disclaimer: **We interrupt your story for an important news bulletin. Th3nerdy0ne has just announced that he does not own Pokémon. Oh what will this mean for our intrepid writer? Apparently nothing.

**On with the story:**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

A Letter and an Important Meeting

* * *

It was an unusually quiet day in the Cerulean City Gym. Very few trainers had shown up to challenge the leader, the Pokémon were all relaxing, even the Sensational Sisters were uncharacteristically quiet (though whether that was a bad thing or not was up for debate). And at the forefront of all this silence and boredom was none other than Misty Waterflower. A strong water-type specialist and leader of the Cerulean City Gym.

She was currently in the pool of the gym doing her daily routine of exercising with the Pokémon. She had just started her fifth lap around the pool with Dewgong when the bell for the gym's front doors went off. Sighing, Misty swam towards the ladder on the right side of the pool and climbed out. She picked up her ocean blue towel from the bleachers, gave her hair a quick drying, threw the towel around her shoulders, and proceeded towards the front doors.

As Misty entered the reception room/lounge, she was greeted with the sight of her eldest sister, Daisy, lying on the couch with a magazine in her hands and a look on her face that was a mix of both boredom and tiredness. Misty walked over to the couch, put her hands on her hips, and gave her all too famous 'Glare of Death' as her sisters called it. Sensing that someone was now watching her thanks to the chill that had just ran down her spine, Daisy looked away from her magazine and was met with a pair of angry looking emerald eyes.

"Hey, baby sis. What's up?" Daisy asked cautiously.

Misty just continued to glare at her for a minute before finally answering.

"How long have you been here?" She asked. Annoyance very evident in her tone.

"Since 1:00." Daisy replied. Not really understanding why Misty was asking this.

"Did you hear the doorbell?" Misty asked. Her glare never faltering.

"Yeah." Daisy replied slowly.

"And why didn't you answer it?" Misty asked.

"It's too far. And I'm tired." Daisy whined.

"In other words you're too lazy to answer it yourself." Misty said. a vain clearly visible on her temple.

"Pretty much." Daisy nodded in agreement. Knowing it would get a rise out of her younger sibling.

Misty took several deep breaths before turning and heading towards the front door. As much as she loved her sisters, there were times when it just became too hard not to give them a light smack on the back of their heads. So to avoid physically harming her irritating family members, she just walked away to the task at hand. If it was a trainer asking for a challenge she didn't want to keep them waiting any longer because of her older sibling's lazy nature.

When she finally reached the front entrance, she pressed a button on the right hand side of the doors allowing them to open. As she stepped out of the gym, ready to apologise for keeping who ever it was waiting so long, she was met with nothing but an empty pathway leading to her gym. Confused, Misty took a few more steps outside and looked around the area. There were no signs that anyone had been there. Not even a retreating figure in the distance.

Shrugging it off, the red-head turned back and headed towards the gym doors. As she was about to enter, she felt her foot step on something that felt like thick paper. Looking down, Misty was met with the sight of a small envelope with her name on it. Picking it up, she entered the gym and walked back into the reception room/lounge where Daisy was still laying on the couch, her magazine open once again. Hearing her sister re-enter the room, Daisy turned her attention to her younger sibling and noticed the envelope.

"Oh, is that for any of us?" She asked with a little excitement in her voice as she probably thought it was fan mail from someone.

"I found it on the ground outside the door. It's addressed to me." Misty replied.

Though Daisy looked a little disappointed that it wasn't for her, she still stood up and walked over to Misty who proceeded to open the letter and begin reading what was written on it out loud.

_'Dear, Ms. Waterflower._

_I am writing to request that you meet me at the Cerulean Café in the square at 3:30. When you arrive, sit at the table in the right hand corner outside. Come alone._

_A friend.'_

When Misty finished reading out the letter, both her and Daisy had perplexed looks on their faces. Neither said anything for a minute or two before Misty checked her watch and headed to her room. Daisy snapped back to reality after noticing that her younger sister was no longer next to her and followed her upstairs. As they entered Misty's room, the red-head threw her towel onto her bed, took some clean clothes out of her wardrobe and headed for the bathroom.

"You're not actually going, are you?" Daisy asked incredulously.

"Yes, Daisy. I am." Misty replied as she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

"But what if it's some sick pervert? You have no idea who this person is or what they want. What if this person tries to hurt you? Or kidnap you?"

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. You know that."

"Still. I'd feel much better if I went along."

"The letter said come alone."

"I don't care. If it looks like my little sister is in any kind of danger I have to be there." Daisy protested. Crossing her arms in an 'I'm going to be stubborn about this until you agree to let me do what I want' kind of way.

Misty knew there was no way to win this argument. Once Daisy had her mind set she wouldn't relent until she got what she wanted. Sighing heavily, Misty opened the bathroom door with an exasperated look on her face and came out wearing a yellow long sleeved t-shirt, tight denim jeans that went a few inches past her knees with a red belt around the waist, and a pair of red trainers.

She was instantly met with a glare from her older sister as she exited the bathroom. It wasn't the same kind of glare that Misty had given her earlier, but it was close enough that anyone else would assume it ran in the family. They glared at each other for about two minutes before Misty threw her arms up exasperatedly.

"Fine, let's go." Misty finally relented and was met with a sickeningly delighted grin from Daisy.

"I'll get my car keys." Daisy said as she ran out of Misty's room and back down stairs.

Misty just sighed and followed along.

"Something tells me it's gonna be a _long_ day." She said to herself.

* * *

**Cerulean Square**

The center of Cerulean City was filled to the brim with shoppers and tourists. Families could be seen enjoying both the sun and the magnificent buildings and statues around the area, Restaurants were obviously doing very well today thanks to the crowds and hot weather, and in a small café, sitting at a table outside, was Misty. She had arrived earlier than planned, thanks in great part to Daisy's lack of obeying the laws of the road, and found herself sitting at the table mentioned in the letter for the past twenty minutes now.

Misty had asked Daisy to stay in the car which was parked in a car park around the corner from where she was, much to the older siblings dismay and constant protests. Still, she had relented and agreed to wait in the car until she returned. Now, here Misty was. Awaiting the arrival of the mysterious _friend _that had sent the letter. She checked the time on her watch for the fifth time in a row. 3:30 on the dot. She looked up from her watch and looked out to the large crowd of people, trying to see if she could find anyone suspicious looking.

"I can assure you, Ms. Waterflower, if you are looking for someone suspicious, you're going about it the wrong way." Came an accented voice from behind.

The startled red-head jumped in her seat and turned to be met with the sight of a man, possibly in his mid fifties, with short brown hair that was grey in some areas, and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a light brown blazer that was buttoned up, a white shirt underneath, dark blue jeans, black shoes, and a black tie around his neck. He was also holding what looked to be a walking stick with a crystal sphere on top with what appeared to be a blue flame inside of it made of what looked like sapphire. The man walked past the startled teen and took a seat across from her.

"Especially if you're looking for someone from an organisation that specializes in being invisible and blending with a crowd." He continued as he raised a hand to signal for a waiter.

"And what organisation is that?" Misty asked as she eyed the man suspiciously.

"All in good time, my dear. First, I think we should place our orders. There's no point in coming to a highly respected café and not order something. Don't you agree?" The man said as a waiter approached their table.

"Hello, and welcome to the Cerulean Café. Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked in a polite manner.

"Yes, my boy. I would like some Earl Grey Tea, please. And what would you like, Ms. Waterflower?"

"Just regular tea with milk and two sugars, thanks." Misty replied, not taking her eyes off of the man.

As the waiter walked off to get the orders, Misty just continued to stare at the man while he took out a pocket watch, looked at the time, and placed it back in his pocket. He then turned his attention to the red-head and smiled warmly. This smile actually managed to give Misty some comfort as it looked sincere however, she still remained weary of him. After another minute or two of uncomfortable silence, the waiter returned with their teas and the two proceeded to take small sips from them.

"Ah. I've always loved how they do the tea here. Nothing like how they make it in my place of birth, but enjoyable nevertheless." Said the man as he took another sip from his tea.

"Are you going to get to the point of who you are and why you asked me here, or will I just leave?" Misty asked, getting rather irritated by what was happening.

"Certainly, my dear." The man said as he placed his tea on the table and folded his arms on the table to lean forward slightly. he then reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and pulled out what appeared to be a badge with a blue flame similar to the one on his walking stick, and his name next to the word Commander on it.

"My name is Simon Lecter. I'm the head of an organisation that works as a sort of, special police force." The man introduced

"Like a S.W.A.T. team?" Misty asked as she studied the ID.

"A little more special than that. The people that work for me have special kinds of skills that would be wasted with a regular police force. So we have our own privately funded organisation that we call, Serenity." Lecter explained.

"So why did you ask me to come here, Mr. Lecter?" Misty asked as she relaxed a bit, though still keeping her guard up.

"Tell me, are you familiar with Aura Ms. Waterflower?"

Misty nodded in response. About a year ago Ash had told her all about what happened with Lucario and the Tree of Beginning, and explained a little bit about Aura to her. She was amazed, to say the least. She had sometimes imagined what it would be like to have that ability after hearing about it and had, on several occasions, gone to the local library to find more information about it. Sadly, there weren't that many books on the subject. Mostly myths and legends. Misty was brought out of her brief thoughts by the voice of Lecter as he continued to explain why he asked to meet her.

"Well you see, it has come to our attention that you know a descendant of an Aura Guardian. Ash Ketchum, is it?"

Misty nodded.

"Well, we have reasons to believe that Mr. Ketchum is in danger." Lecter explained.

Misty took in a sharp breath and her eyes widened at hearing this.

"What?! Why?!" Misty nearly yelled.

"Calm down, Ms. Waterflower. Let me explain." Lecter said calmly. Not at all fazed by the raise of tone in the young teen's voice.

Misty took a few deep breaths before finally relaxing enough that she was able to continue listening.

"As I was saying, we have reason to believe that Mr. Ketchum is a possible target for a rival faction called Specter."

"What do you mean by faction?" Misty asked.

Lecter looked hesitant for a moment. He was contemplating whether he should tell her or not. It would mean breaking several regulations. However, given the current situation, he didn't really have much of a choice given the little time they have. Finally making a decision, he explained.

"Well, both my organisation and Specter have been more or less at war with each other for centuries. And we've done a remarkable job of keeping it a secret from the rest of the world so I would appreciate it if you never spoke of this to anyone else. Understood?"

Misty nodded in understanding. Lecter continued.

"Now, Serenity has made a commitment to keeping the world safe from any and all threats. And Specter is a big one. Team Rocket are boy scouts compared to them. They want nothing short of complete control of the entire world and will terminate anyone who gets in their way or is considered a threat."

"And what? They think Ash is a threat?" Misty asked incredulously.

"Well, he is a descendant of a powerful Aura Guardian, has the ability to use Aura, and has done his fair share of world saving. Wouldn't you agree?"

Misty couldn't help but nod in agreement at that. Ash was the type of person that would jump head first into danger if it meant saving others. Hell, she was there for most of them and had to suffer several mini-heart attacks when it looked like he had died during these occasions. And now it was happening again. Ash had somehow managed to unintentionally tick off a dangerous organisation and now they were out to get him because of both his nature and his heritage. If he was here right now, Misty would've smacked him upside the head with her mallet for being... Ash. She knew it was the type of person he was. Hell, that was one of the reasons she lo... anyway, she couldn't fault him for being him. But she could certainly give him an ass kicking for it.

"So why call me? Why not go see Ash directly?" She asked.

"We don't know where he is. We are aware that he's in the Sinnoh Region, we just don't know what part. But Specter does." Lecter said.

Misty's eyes once again widened in shock.

"We don't know how, but they've managed to locate him. And they're most likely going to send someone to kill him." Lecter explained.

"Why should I believe you? Why should I believe any of this? How do I know you're not with these guys and your just tricking me to get closer to Ash?" Misty asked with a glare.

Lecter just shrugged. "You don't. And I don't have any other proof aside from my ID which for all you know could be forged. All I can offer you is my word that I'm telling the truth."

Misty thought on this for quite a while before finally coming to a conclusion. She didn't trust this man completely, but if Ash was in any possible danger she'd have take the chance.

"So what do we do?" Misty asked with a serious tone in her voice and look in her eyes.

"You have a Pokégear, do you not?" Lecter inquired.

Misty looked confused for a moment before realising what the older man was getting at. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her Pokégear and began searching through her contacts for the number she was looking for. After a minute, Misty finally came to Ash's number. She had gotten him a Pokégear for Christmas a year ago and it's been their main way of keeping in contact ever since he left for Sinnoh. She looked at the number for a few moments before finally pressing the call button. As it rang she looked up at Lecter.

"What should I tell him?" Misty asked.

"Tell him that you need an extra pair of hands to help you out at the gym." Lecter said.

"Why can't I just warn him about the possible attack? That would be a smarter thing to do, wouldn't it?"

Lecter shook his head.

"Even if you warn him it won't make a difference. These people are trained killers. He'd have a snowballs chance in hell."

Though Misty didn't like hearing that at all, she nodded in understanding. She waited for a few more moments as the phone rang before the sound of someone answering could finally be heard.

_"Hey, Mist. What's up?" _Came the happy voice of the raven-haired trainer.

Misty took a deep breath to calm herself so Ash wouldn't think something was wrong.

"Hey, Ash. I was wondering, is there anyway you could come to the gym for a while? Things have gotten pretty busy down here and I need some extra help. If this isn't a good time I understand, it's just-" Before Misty could continue, she was cut off by the cheerful voice of the young man on the other end of the phone.

_"Sure. I don't mind coming down and giving you a hand. Me and Pikachu need a brake from training anyway. We just arrived at Sunnyshore a few minutes ago, so I can get a Ferry ticket and be down there in two days. Sound good?"_

"Two days sounds perfect. I'll see you then." Misty said as she smiled. She hung up after that and turned her attention back to Lecter.

"He'll be here in two days?" He asked.

Misty nodded. Lecter smiled.

"Perfect. When he arrives I'll see to it that my best agents are assigned to watch over you both. And if any Specter operatives show up, they'll take care of them." He said.

"I'd feel better if there wasn't anyone after him at all." Misty said with worry evident in her voice.

"Don't worry about it, Ms. Waterflower. We'll make sure nothing happens to either of you." Lecter assured with a smile.

After that, the two went their separate ways. But not before Misty grabbed the older man by the wrist and gave her 'Glare of Death' to him.

"If I find out that you've lied to me, and Ash is hurt in anyway, I'll make sure you regret it." She threatened.

"Don't you trust me?"

"About as far as I can throw you." Misty said simply.

Lecter just smiled. "I assure you, Ms. Waterflower, I am telling the truth. I promise that no harm will befall you or Mr. Ketchum."

With that, Lecter disappeared into the large crowd and Misty headed towards the car park where Daisy was. During the drive back to the gym, Daisy had bombarded Misty with questions about who it was she met and what it was they were talking about. Misty just told her that it was private and that Ash was coming in two days and left it at that. Though Daisy wanted to press on the matter, an angry glare from Misty shut her up and both sisters were silent for the remainder of the drive back to the gym.

* * *

**That was chapter two, ladies and gentlemen. What did you think? Good? Bad? Leave a review and let me know.**

**I'll be getting off college for the Easter brake soon so hopefully I'll be able to update faster. I'll get to work on chapter three as soon as possible and have it out when it's good and ready.**

**Until then, live long and prosper and may the force be with you.**


	3. Home Again

**Hurray! Chapter Three is here, ladies and gentlemen! Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you at the end for an important thing you need to know. Well it might be important but then again it might not. It really depends on how you look at it.**

**Any who,**

**Disclaimer: **What has two thumbs, and doesn't own Pokémon? This guy (Points both thumbs at myself)!

**On with the story:**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Home Again

* * *

Ash stood at the front of the ferry with a smile as he watched the sunrise illuminate his hometown in a flurry of oranges, pinks, and golds. It had been five months since he was last here and he'd be lying if said he didn't feel a little homesick from all the traveling. Pikachu was at his usual perch on Ash's shoulder and had the same look that Ash had on his face. A look of joy at returning home. Ash turned to his partner and best friend and gave him a scratch behind the ear to which the yellow mouse gave an appreciative 'Cha.'

"Happy to be home, you two?" Came a voice from behind.

Ash turned around to be greeted by the smiling face of his newest traveling companion and friend, Dawn Hikari.

"Hell yeah!" Ash exclaimed with a grin.

"Pika!" Pikachu said with the same grin as his trainer.

When Ash told both Brock and Dawn of the call he had received from Misty yesterday afternoon asking for him to come to Cerulean to help around the gym, and that he would be leaving on the last ferry that evening, Dawn practically begged him to let her come for two reasons.

1: She wanted to see what Kanto was like.

And

2: She really wanted to meet Misty. Mostly because Ash never stopped talking about her whenever he told Dawn about his old adventures.

Ash agreed wholeheartedly, not wanting to deny Dawn the chance to visit a new region.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw her face light up like a child's on Christmas, she kind of reminded him of himself when he had gone to Johto for the first time when he was younger. The excitement in the eyes upon seeing new Pokémon, meeting new people and visiting new cities, the adrenalin rush that comes with having your first battle, or in Dawn's case, contest in said new region, and making new friends. For Ash, the look of happiness on Dawn's face was priceless. He never really liked seeing her upset or depressed, and had always felt very protective of the young bluenette as if she was his own kid sister. So seeing her this happy and this excited was always nice.

Brock, on the other hand, had decided to stay in Sinnoh for a little while longer to brush up on his knowledge of the Pokémon in that region to further his training in his goal to become a breeder. Both Ash and Dawn were a little saddened by this but Brock had told them not to worry and that he'd join them after a week or two. This, of course, had brightened the two younger trainers up. It was also funny to see Brock get slapped by a young woman that he had tried, and failed, to flirt with at the Sunnyshore Docks the day they left.

Dawn stood next to Ash on the ferry and looked on towards the new region that awaited her. The bluenette's heart was beating a million miles a second at the mere thought of setting foot in a new place. She had never been to another region before so she was, admittedly, quite nervous about the whole thing. She turned her attention back to the older trainer to her left and wondered if he had gone through the same thing when he had first left Kanto to continue his Pokemon journey.

"Nervous?"

Ash's voice brought the coordinator in training out of her thoughts. She shook her head slightly and then looked towards her friend only to be met with the sight of the older boy and Pikachu looking at her with knowing smiles.

"A little. Wasn't it the same for you the first time as well?" Dawn asked.

"Absolutely. When I left Kanto for the Hoenn Region, I was terrified." Ash said.

"Hoenn? But hadn't you been to Johto and the Orange Islands before that?" Dawn asked with a confused look on her face.

"True. But Hoenn was different."

"How come?"

"It was the first time I was going to a new region with just me and Pikachu. I didn't know what I'd do, where I'd go, what I'd expect. At least with Johto and the Orange Islands I had Misty, Brock, and Tracey traveling with me." Ash explained.

"Oh, I get it now. Well in that case I'm glad that you're here with me. I'd be an even bigger nervous wreck than I already am." Dawn said with a smile. Ash chuckled at that and gave the bluenette a friendly pat on the head.

"You'll love Kanto Dawn, it's a great place. And my mom'll be happy to meet you." Ash said with a wide smile.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as he jumped on to Dawn's shoulder. The bluenette giggled and scratched behind the yellow mouse's ear which Pikachu was very happy to receive.

"_ATTENTION, PLEASE!_" Came a voice from the ship's intercom. "_We will be arriving at the Pallet Town Docks shortly. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark._"

"Well, time to go" Ash said as he made his way towards his cabin to get his things.

"Do you wanna help me pack up my things, Pikachu?" Dawn asked the yellow mouse on her shoulder.

"Chu." Pikachu agreed happily.

Dawn giggled softly, scratched Pikachu behind his ear again, and then the two made their way towards Dawn's cabin.

* * *

"Mimey, Could you go up to the attic and see if I left the vacuum up there?" Called a woman in her mid thirties from a kitchen.

"Mr. Mime!" Came the voice of a psychic type from the living room next door.

"Thank you!"

Delia Ketchum had quite the busy day ahead of her. She had to help Professor Oak take care of some newly hatched Squirtle, she needed to tend to some recently blooming Azaleas in the large flower bed in the back yard, and her and Mimey had a lot of Spring Cleaning to do around the house. All in all it was going to be a busy day indeed. She yawned loudly as she prepared breakfast for herself and Mimey.

"Mr. Mime!" Mimey said happily as he held the vacuum for Delia to see.

"Well done Mimey." Delia exclaimed happily.

"Mime."

The human and Pokémon were taken out of their conversation by a loud knock on the front door. With a curious look on her face, Delia left the kitchen and headed towards the front door. Opening it, she was greeted with the site of a young blue haired girl wearing a bandanna with a shy smile on her face, and standing next to her was a familiar looking raven haired teen with a toothy grin and a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Hey mo-"

"ASHY, YOU'RE HOME!" Delia yelled as she grabbed Ash into a very strong bear hug.

"Missed... You... Too... Air..." Ash struggled to say.

Delia, completely oblivious to her sons lack of oxygen, let her Ashy go resulting in him falling to the ground with a comical thud, and walked over to greet the young bluenette who by now was trying to stifle her laughter. Delia held out her hand and Dawn accepted, shaking the older woman's hand. The two had actually met before, however it was over a videophone, but that didn't stop the two from always engaging into conversations involving clothes and baking techniques for Dawn's poffins. Needless to say, the two became fast friends.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Dawn." Delia said with a warm smile.

"You too, Mrs. Ketchum." Dawn said with a smile of her own.

"Please, come in. This is a really pleasant surpri- Ash, what are you doing on the ground?"

"Admiring the dirt." Ash said as he got up and dusted himself off. Pikachu stood behind him, doing his very best to hide his laughter.

"Please, make yourselves at home." Delia said as she entered the house followed by Ash and Dawn.

Once Ash stepped through the front door of his home he was instantly greeted by a smiling Mimey who had come out from the kitchen to see what was going on.

"Mime Mime!" Mimey greeted happily.

"It's great to see you too, Mimey." Ash said as he patted Mimey on the head.

Pikachu ran up to Mimey and the two began to converse with each other about various things. Once she closed the front door, Delia took a seat on the sofa in the living room and offering Dawn to sit next to her while Ash sat in the armchair across from them.

"So what brings you to Kanto? Ash, the last time we spoke you said you were on your way to Sunnyshore for your next gym battle. And where's Brock?" Delia asked.

"Well, I got a call from Misty yesterday asking for some help at the gym. So I said I'd come down and help her out for the next while." Ash began to explain.

"And I've never been to another region before so I asked Ash if I could tag along." Dawn added.

"And Brock decided to stay behind to do more 'research' on the Pokémon in Sinnoh." Ash finished. Adding air quotes to the word research, causing Dawn to laugh slightly.

"I see. Well you're both more than welcome to spend the night here, and I can take you guys up to Cerulean tomorrow morning." Delia said with a bright smile.

"Thanks mom. That'd be great." Ash said.

"It's settled then. Dawn, I'll prepare the guest room for you after lunch. And if you'd like, you can let your Pokémon out in the backyard so they can get some fresh country air into them." Delia said.

"Thanks Mrs. K. I think they'll like that."

Delia gave the young bluenette a warm smile.

"In the mean time, Ashy? Could you go help Mimey with cleaning around the house?"

"Sure thing." Ash said as he stood up and followed Mimey out of the room. Pikachu not far behind.

Delia then turned to address Dawn.

"And Dawn, would you like to help me tend to the flowers in the front yard?" She asked.

"I'd love to." Dawn beamed with a bright smile.

And so, while Dawn was helping Delia with the flowers in the front yard, Ash got to work on cleaning the house along with Pikachu and Mimey. It was decided that Mimey would take the downstairs while Ash and Pikachu handled the upstairs. Ash started with the stairs themselves. Grabbing the second vacuum from the attic, he started from the bottom and worked his way up. Pikachu had fun cleaning the banister of the stairs by running to the very top of the stairs and sliding down it on a cloth Ash had given him whilst spraying the cleaning spray on it on his way down. After that was over and done with, Ash and Pikachu proceeded to clean the bedrooms and bathroom. By the time Ash had reached the final room, his room, a wave of nostalgia instantly entered his mind as he set foot in his room for the first time in months.

The walls were completely covered in Pokémon related poster that varied from movies, Elite Four members, Pokémon League posters, to simple Pokémon themselves. On the few shelves that occupied the room were various action figures of Pokémon, trainers, and even the Dragon Master himself, Lance. There was a bookshelf next to his bed filled to the brim with magazines and novels, all Pokémon related. Ash then directed his attention to the wardrobe to his left and opened it up. A smile instantly grew on his face at it's contents. Inside the wardrobe hung his two old travelling clothes. On one hanger was the jacket, shirt , and trousers he had worn while travelling through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto. Next to that was the clothes he wore during his travels through the Hoenn region. The hats he had worn on those travels were each placed under their respective attire.

Ash's smile grew wider as he bent down and picked up the hat he had worn when he started his journey. Not wasting a single moment, he removed his current hat, though it onto his bed, and placed his old one on his head. On a desk to Ash's right, Pikachu watched on with a smile of his own as he watched his friend place his old hat atop his head.

"Whatta ya think, buddy?" Ash asked the yellow mouse.

"Pika chu, Pikapi!" Pikachu exclaimed happily. Giving his trainer a thumbs up.

"Well, let's get back to work.

Meanwhile, in the front yard. Dawn was in the middle of watering a set of Tulips with Piplup. The sun was shining brightly over their heads and they could feel the heat. Delia then came out of the house with a tray of what appeared to be lemonade. Placing the tray on a small table, she then went back inside to call Ash, Pikachu, and mimey to let them know that there were drinks waiting for them out there. She when walked back out a called the young bluenette over to the table as well. Placing the hose down, Dawn picked Piplup up in her arms and walked over to the little table and took a seat next to the auburn-haired woman.

"Thank you very much for helping, Dawn. The flowers look happier already." Delia said cheerfully as she took a sip from her lemonade.

"Don't mention it Mrs. K. I help my mom out a lot with the flowers back home. So I know a thing or to about plants." Dawn said proudly.

Delia giggled at that.

"I must meet her sometime. We could share flowering techniques."

"I think she'd love that." Dawn laughed.

As the two shared a brief laugh, Ash walked out of the front door with Pikachu perched on his head, and Mimey following behind. The three proceeded to take a seat at the table and took a glass of lemonade from the tray. They all took a big gulp at the same time and sighed in joy as the cold liquid ran through their bodies, and then relaxed in their seats. It wasn't until a minute passed went by that Dawn noticed Ash's change in head wear.

"What's with the hat?" She asked.

Delia directed her attention to what Dawn was talking about and also noticed the old hat. An instant wave of Nostalgia hit the older woman at full force and she smiled at the memories. Ash gave Dawn a quizzical look at first before realising what she was referring to. He removed the hat from his head held it in his right hand.

"This? It's the hat I wore when I started my journey." Ash said proudly as he threw the hat in the air and it landed on his head without a flaw.

"That's the hat?"

"Yep. Of all the hats I've worn so far, this will always be my favorite."

"Really? Why's that?" The bluenette inquired.

"I went through a lot to get this hat. Aside from when I'm in my house, having a shower, or sleeping I never took this hat off." Ash explained.

"So it's pretty special to you." Dawn said.

"You bet."

Can I try it on?" Dawn asked with a slight gleam in her eyes.

"No way, Dawn." Ash said seriously.

"Why not?" Dawn whined.

"You just can't." Ash stated, finishing his lemonade and getting up from the chair he was in.

Dawn followed suit and, before Ash could stop her, she grabbed the hat off of his head and placed on her own. Shocked, Ash just stood there dumbly as Dawn stuck her tongue out to him in a childish manner. Shaking himself from his stupor, Ash grew a rather devious smile on his face as he walked over to the hose Dawn was originally using to water the flowers with.

"Now you're gonna get it." Ash said as he picked up the hose and pointed it in Dawn's direction.

"You wouldn't!" Dawn said. Her eyes growing wide.

"Oh I would." Ash said as he turned the device on.

Dawn gave a girlish shriek as she began to dodge barrages of water. She started running away from Ash, who began chasing after her, and ran all over the front yard, laughing as they did. As she watched on, Delia couldn't help but laugh at the scene taking place in front of her. Ash had finally caught up with Dawn and managed to successfully soak the back of her head and her back. The furious bluenette responded to this by doing a complete 180 and diving on the raven-haired trainer. She grabbed the hose off of him and managed to soak his face with water. As she was laughing, Ash took this opportunity to grab his hat off of her head and run as far away from her as possible.

_"You'd think they were actual siblings." _Delia thought to herself. "Alright, you two, enough. Both of you go inside and dry yourselves off. Dawn I think I have a few old clothes you could borrow while I throw the ones you're wearing in the dryer." Delia said as she stood up and walked with the two trainers back into the house.

"Thanks, Mrs. K. Sorry about that." Dawn said sheepishly.

"No need to appologise. I was young once too, you know." Delia said with a smile.

* * *

later that night, after Ash and Dawn had dried themselves off and put on dry clothes, the two trainers and Delia were all sitting at the table in the kitchen with empty plates in front of each of them. Though in Ash's case it was more like ten. Ash was telling Delia all about his journey through Sinnoh so far while Dawn told her all about the Contests she had participated in and about her friendly rivals, Zoey and Kenny. Delia was completely enthralled by the stories both trainers were telling, and smiled at the energy both trainers seemed to have. Pikachu was currently resting on the sofa in the living room, completely drained from both the journey to Kanto and the work he, Ash, and Mimey did around the house.

"Well, I must say, it seems like you've all had quite a journey so far. I can hardly believe half the things you've told me, Ash." Delia said as she took a sip from a cup of tea she'd made.

"Trust me, you're not the only one. According to Brock, seeing the impossible is a common thing when travelling with Ash. I would've continued to think he was joking until that incident with Giratina happened. And then that thing with Arceus." Dawn exclaimed.

"It's kinda like adventure and danger follow me everywhere I go." Ash said sheepishly as he placed his hand behind his head.

Delia just gave a knowing smile at that.

"Your father said the exact same thing when I first met him." Delia said in a faraway tone.

"That reminds me. Where is your husband, Mrs. Ketchum? I'd like to meet him." Dawn said with a wide smile. It soon disappeared however, when she noticed how quiet it had suddenly gotten.

Looking between both Ash and Delia, Dawn noticed a rather pained look was present in both their eyes. Ash stood up suddenly and rinsed his plate in the kitchen sink before placing it on the counter and heading into the living room next door. the top part of his face covered by his hat. Dawn looked towards Delia who sighed before giving the bluenette an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, dear. I'm afraid Ash's father passed away eight years ago." Delia said softly.

At this, Dawn's eyes grew wide.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" Dawn began frantically before Delia held up her hand.

"It's alright, Dawn. I hadn't really expected you to know. Ash very rarely talks about his father with anyone other than me. The only other exception being Misty. It's still a pretty sensitive subject for him, though. He isn't as bad as he used to be when it comes to talking about David." Delia explained.

"But you mentioned Mr. Ketchum a few moments ago and Ash seemed fine." Dawn said.

Delia nodded in agreement.

"He doesn't mind talking about him if it's a memory he has of when they spent time together, or I'm telling him a story about when I was travelling with is father on our Pokémon journey. But, when it comes to talking about how he died, Ash just stays silent when it happens." Delia explained.

"I... I didn't mean to-." Dawn began. Her eyes getting slightly misty from what Delia had told her.

The older woman placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's alright, dear. Ash will be fine, and I know he isn't upset at you for bringing it up." Delia comforted.

In the living room, Ash was standing at the fire place looking at the set of pictures that were lined across it on the mantle. They varied from pictures of him with his mom as a child, to when he returned from the Indigo Plateau with Misty and Brock. One picture in particular however, caught his attention the most. Reaching for it, Ash picked up a picture that showed an eight year old him with a younger looking Delia to his left, and standing to his right was a man that looked like an older version of Ash only with shorter hair, blue eyes, and unlike Ash had no lightning bolt birth marks on his cheeks. They were all smiling while standing outside their house, that appeared to be covered in snow.

Ash smiled at the picture and began to get lost in his thoughts. He slowly began to move his thumb over the picture unconsciously, never taking his eyes off of the frozen image of his father. He was taken out of his thoughts with a jolt when a hand tapped him on his shoulder. Turning around, he was met with the sad face of Dawn looking up at him with sad eyes. Before Ash could say anything, the bluenette surprised him by wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Ash froze for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"Are you okay, Dawn?" He asked with slight concern.

Dawn just shook her head and tightened her grip around Ash as she began to speak. Her voice muffled by Ash's jacket.

"I-I'm sorry Ash. I didn't know." Dawn said apologetically.

It took Ash a moment before he finally realised what she was talking about. He then wrapped his arms around her and reciprocated the hug. He then began to slowly rock back and forth in an attempt to cheer Dawn up. She looked up at the raven-haired boy with a sad expression on her face only to be met with his smiling face one. Dawn thought of Ash as her older brother and never liked it when he was upset and hated it even more when she thought she was the one who was the cause of him being upset. So seeing him looking down at her with a warm smile on his face brought a lot of comfort to the young coordinator.

"It's okay. You didn't know, and I never brought it up. You've got no reason to be upset." He said softly.

Dawn didn't say anything. She just nodded and buried her head back into Ash's chest as she continued to hug him. She slowly unwrapped her arms from around Ash and looked down to the floor. It was then that she noticed the picture in Ash's right hand.

"Is that him?" She asked.

Ash nodded and held the picture up for Dawn to take. She held it in both hands and studied it carefully.

"Wow. He looks just like you." Dawn said with a smile.

"According my mom, I take after him in a lot of ways."

"He was reckless and found danger no matter where he went?" Dawn asked with a smile.

Ash chuckled at that.

"Exactly."

The two then fell into a comfortable silence after that. It wasn't until Delia's voice came in from the doorway into the kitchen that they were brought back to reality.

"I think it's time we all went to bed." She said softly.

Ash looked at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace and saw that was indeed very late. 12:30 to be exact. He proceeded to walk over to the sofa and carefully pick the sleeping Pikachu up into his arms. He then gave his mom a kiss on the cheek, and went upstairs. Dawn placed the picture back onto the mantle, wished Delia a good night, thanked her for dinner, and proceeded to climb the stairs the guest room. As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Ash about to walk into his room. Feeling that someone was watching him, Ash turned around and smiled at the bluenette who returned the gesture.

"G'night, Dawn."

"Night, Ash."

With that said, both trainers went to their respective rooms for a good nights sleep. Blissfully unaware of what lay ahead for them.

* * *

**[Unknown Location]**

As the bright sun shines through a set of large windows, similar to the kind you'd see in a church only without the colors and paintings, a lone figure wearing a black cloak stands and gazes out at the clouds ahead. He never understood why people took the time to stop and look up at them whenever they could. There was no logic nor any reason to do so other than to waste time on whatever menial tasks they were doing and become surprised when they see a shape in them that, in reality, doesn't actually exist as it's just their mind projecting what they want to see.

"Lieutenant Caine!" Came a voice from behind.

The man known as Caine, was taken out of his thoughts when someone approached him wearing some kind of grey uniform with red lines going down the sides of the waist and around the cuffs of the sleeves and wearing black boots. He bowed at the cloaked man who returned the gesture.

"What is it?" Caine asked.

"Sir, he's come back to Kanto." Replied the uniformed man.

Caine burst through a pair of large doors into what looked to be a control room that was filled with various monitors and computers. A large window, that was located at the front of the control room, showed a view of vast mountains covered in snow and what looked to be grey storm clouds ahead. In the center of the control room was what looked like a circular table with various switches and buttons on the sides. And in the middle of the table like device, was a small glowing orb that projected a large holographic image of the Kanto region across the rest of the table.

Three people in similar cloaks to Caine's were standing around the table looking at the holo-map. One of them, a man with short black hair that was partially spiked in some areas and emerald eyes, turned towards Caine upon hearing his entrance. He nodded at Caine who proceeded to walk towards the holo-map as the other two people, a woman with long blonde hair that reached to the center of her back and ocean blue eyes, and an older looking man with shoulder length grey hair and dark brown eyes, also acknowledged his arrival with brief nods before directing their attention back to the holo-map.

"Where is he now?" Caine addressed the short-haired man.

"It would appear that The Alpha has arrived at Pallet Town. And he's not alone. It seems he's brought one of his friends with him." The short-haired man replied.

"And where is the other one?"

"Back in the Sinnoh region." It was the blonde-haired woman who answered this time.

"Our agents reported that he received a call from the Cerulean Gym Leader yesterday evening asking for him to come to Cerulean to assist her with some work there." The older man spoke up next.

Caine crossed his arms in deep thought for a minute or two before finally speaking again.

"Send Prime and Nomad. But advise them to use extreme caution." He finally said.

"I've already dispatched them. By the time the boy reaches Cerulean they'll have intercepted him." The short-haired man spoke again.

"Excellent." Caine said. A malicious smile appearing on his face.

* * *

**What lies ahead for Ash? Who are Prime and Nomad? Why did they refer to Ash as Alpha? All this and more will become clear very, VERY, soon.**

**That was Chapter three, ladies and gentlemen. What'd you think? Good? Bad? Leave a review and let me know.**

**Okay a few things I'd like to let you guys know.**

**1: Don't worry, this isn't a Dawn and Ash romance story. It's still a Misty and Ash romance story. I just wanted to further explore the relationship between Dawn and Ash as really close friends.**

**2: I'm off for the summer now so I will try to update as frequently as possible.**

**3: This story is going to connect to the same universe as two other stories I've written for these reasons.**

**a: I've kinda had it planned to write a set of stories that connect with each other ever since I wrote my first story for this site, Anniversary, the second story it connects to being Origins and it's planned sequel. I just never really knew how to go about starting this little idea until now.**

**And**

**b: It's something I've always wanted to try.**

**Now don't worry you don't have to read those two before reading this. However you may want to read them before reading the two sequels I have planned for this story. That's right! This is a trilogy that I've decided to dub: The Aura Trilogy. So yeah, that's happening. Now I'm not entirely sure if everything I've just mentioned is a good idea but I guess I'll find out soon enough.**

**4: I've decided to put up notifications on profile every few weeks to make it easier for you guys to know when I'm going to update next. Just look for my STORIES IN PROGRESS list on my profile, look for the story you're currently reading and there should be information on the progress of it's next update written beside it. Not entirely sure if that helps or just overly complicates things. I guess we'll find out.**

**Until then, live long and prosper and may the force be with you.**


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